Arrangement for safeguarding a security safe

ABSTRACT

The floor of a structure has a pair of spaced pits therein, within the first of which a security safe is disposed, said pit having a removable cover. A concealed shaft extends between the pits, and has latch and lock arms secured to the opposite ends thereof, the arms being simultaneously movable between first and second pivotal positions, and the lock arm being disposed in the second pit. The latch arm is disposed in the first pit and carries latch means engageable with mating latch means on the cover when the arms are in their first pivotal position. A releasable lock is used to secure the lock arm in its first pivotal position, and an alarm system is arranged to give an alarm upon unauthorized movement of said arms from their first pivotal position.

United States Patent [191 Rey ARRANGEMENT FOR SAFEGUARDING A SECURITY SAFE [76] Inventor: Louis Rey, 8056 Carpenter Drive,

El Paso, Tex. 79907 [22] Filed: Mar. 21, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 236,657

[52] US. Cl. ..109/44, 109/38, 109/67 1 Apr. 17, 1973 Primary ExaminerDennis L. Taylor Attorney-Leo A. Rosetta et a1.

[5 ABSTRACT The floor of a structure has a pair of spaced pits therein, within the first of which a security safe is disposed, said pit having a removable cover. A concealed shaft extends between the pits, and has latch and lock arms secured to. the opposite ends thereof, the arms being simultaneously movable between first and second pivotal positions, and the lock arm being disposed in the second pit. The latch arm is disposed in the firstpit and carries latch means engageable with mating latch means on the cover when the arms are in their first pivotal position. A releasable lock is used to secure the lock arm in its first pivotal position, and an alarm system is arranged to give an alarm upon unauthorized movement of said arms from their first pivotal position.

PATENTEI] m 1 11973 SHEET 1 [IF 2 ARRANGEMENT FOR SAFEGUARDING A SECURITY SAFE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1 Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to security safes, and more particularly to a novel arrangement equipped with an alarm system for guarding a security safe in the home or at a business location.

2. Description of the Prior Art Small security safes are used in the home and places of business to guard valuables. Normally such security safes are fairly difficult to open, but nevertheless bur glars and other persons occasionally attempt to break them open, either on the premises, or at a remote location after removing them from the premises. The smaller safes especially lend themselves to the latter approach.

It has been the practice with some large and expen sive safe constructions, such as are found in banks and similar financial institutions, to protect the vault door and locks by placing it behind a security door. This arrangement obviously slows the work ofa would-be burglar, and allows more opportunity for detection. Typical of such safe constructions are US. Pat. Nos. 306,018, 810.861, 902,050, 1,118,435, 1,610,798, and 1,887,866.

The disclosures of the above references are of no practical use to the homeowner or shopkeeper, who cannot afford the expense of such installations. What such persons need is a simple, economical and yet effective arrangement to safeguard a conventional small security safe, so that such cannot be tampered with or carried away without difficulty and the setting off of alarms. The present invention is directed toward satisfying that need.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The arrangement of the invention is designed to protect' a small security safe against tampering, the ar rangement itself being also designed to resist the would-be thief. The floor or other'surface of the struc ture where the security safe is located is provided with two spaced pits, constructed so they cannot be entered except through an opening provided therein. In the preferred embodiment, the two pits are placed in the floor and are constructed of heavily reinforced concrete.

The security safe itself is placed in one of the pits, the opening of such pit being closed by a removable cover. A shaft extends between the two pits, and the end thereof within the first pit containing the security safe has one end of a latch arm rigidly secured thereto. The other end of the latch arm carries latch means, which is engageable with mating latch means on the underside of the removable cover when the shaft is rotated to pivot the latch arm from a first, retracted position to a second or latched position.

The other end of the shaft terminates in the second pit, and has one end ofa lock arm secured thereto. The lock arm is normally movable between first and second positions, and a lock arrangement is provided to removably secure such in its second position to thereby lock the latch arm in its latching position. When the arms are thus locked, the security safe is guarded against tampering or theft.

In order for an unauthorized person to reach the security safe in the first pit, the latch and lock arms must first be freed, and then pivoted back to their first position. Because of the design of the invention, this is a difficult task. Further, the arms are equipped with switches to detect movement thereof, which are connected into a remote alarm system for summoning the proper authorities.

The arrangement of the invention thus is effective to protect a security safe. At the same time it is relatively easy and inexpensive to install, and requires little maintenance.

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide an arrangement for effectively guarding a small security safe against tampering or theft.

Another object is to provide such an arrangement that is easy to install and economical to construct, and which will give an alarm when unauthorized persons tamper therewith.

Other objects and attendant advantages of the invention will become readily understood from the following Description of the Preferred Embodiment, when taken together with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of the security safe guarding arrangement of the present invention, in its locked condition;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view, taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1, and showing the shaft with its latch and lock arms.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view, taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2, the security safe being shown in full lines;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view, taken on the line 44 of FIG. 0; and

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of the alarm system for the safe guarding arrangement.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, the floor of a structure is indicated at 2, and has a first, relatively large pit 4 and a second, relatively small pit 6 formed therein. The floor 2 could be some other surface of the structure, and the pits 4 and 6 are formed of reinforced concrete and are spaced apart.

The spacing between the pits 4 and 6 is a matter of choice, and can range from several inches to several feet. In the drawing the pits 4 and 6 are shown on opposite sides of a dividing wall 8, which tends to render the arrangement more secure for most installations. A pipe 10 is embedded in the floor and extends between thetwo pits 4 and 6, the wall 12 of the pit 4 having a flared, vertical box 14 embedded therein that communicates with the pipe 10.

The first or larger pit 4 is generally cubical in shape, and is adapted to receive a security safe 16, resting on its back with the door 18 facing up. A rectangular, removable door 20 is placed over the pit 4 to close the same, the rim 22 of the pit 4 being recessed to tightly receive edges of the door 20 so that the tip ofa pry bar cannot be placed therebeneath. If desired, the pit door 20 can be hingedly mounted by suitable means (not shown).

In order to secure the security safe 16 within the pit 4, the pit door 20 must be secured in place, and for this purpose a shaft 24 extends through the pipe 10 and is rigidly secured at one end to the lower end of a latch arm 26 mounted within the vertical box 14. The upper end of the latch arm 26 has one end of a horizontally extending latch bar 28 fixed thereto, said bar 28 extending through an arcuate opening 30 in the vertical box 14. The opposite wall 32 of the first pit 4 has a smaller box 34 embedded therein, the front wall 36 of Centrally thereof the cover plate 20 has spaced latch collars 40 welded to the underside thereof, the axes of which extend at right angles to the elongated latch bar 28. The latch bar 28 carries L-shaped latch fingers 42, which are free of the collars 40 when the latch arm 26 is in its retracted or first position. When the latch arm 26 is pivoted to its second or latched position, as shown by full lines in FIG. 3, the ends of the L-shaped fingers 42 enter the latch collars 40 to secure the cover plate 20 in place. The arcuate slots or openings 30 and 38 serve both to limit the pivotal movement of the latch arm 26, and to anchor the ends of the latch bar 18 to prevent prying up of the pit cover plate 20.

The second pit 6 is much smaller than the first pit 4, and the other end of the shaft 24 projects into the bottom thereof and has the lower end of a lock arm 44 fixed thereto. A cover plate 46 is fixed in position over the second pit 6 and has a slot opening 48 therein through which the upper end 50 of the lock arm 44 projects. The slot opening 48 is ofa length just sufficient to allow the free lock arm 44 to pivot between first and second positions, such as will result in pivoting of the latch arm 26 between its first, unlatched and its second, latched positions.

Welded to the plate 46 is a flange 52 having an opening or eye 54 therein ofa size to just receive one leg 56 of the hasp 58 of a padlock 60. The flange 52 is disposed to be opposite the upper end 50 of the lock arm 44 when such is in its second position, and the lock arm 44 has an opening or eye 62 therein that is then in alignment with the lock eye 54. The lock eye 62 is also ofa size to snugly receive the lock hasp leg 56, and thus when the hasp leg is passed through both lock eyes 54 and 62 the lock arm 44 and the latch arm 26 are secured against movement.

The arrangement thus far described is relatively easy and inexpensive to install in a home or place of business, and will effectively protect the security safe 16 against tampering or theft where the average intruder is involved. Any such intruder must resort to heavy tools to break open the present arrangement, assuming he even locates the second pit 6 with its padlock 60. With proper construction, the first pit cover 20 simply cannot be pried up, thereby requiring a burglar to resort to cutting torches or the like. All of these breaking in procedures require time and are noisy, thus discouraging the average burglar from even undertaking them, especially if he realizes that he still must contend with the security safe 16 itself.

While the physical structure of the present invention thus provides adequate security in most instances, it is possible that a burglar might nevertheless decide to destroy the security of the arrangement. The most logical point of attack for such a burglar would be to find and break open the padlock 60, so that the lock arm 44 can be pivoted to release the latch mechanism. To provide for this possibility, the arrangement of the invention includes an alarm system.

Referring again to the drawings, a first, normally open switch is mounted on the rear wall 72 of the first pit 4, where it will be closed by movement of the latch bar 28 to its first or open position. A second, normally closed switch 74 is mounted within the box 14, where it will be held open by pressure of the lock bar 28 thereagainst when said bar is in its latched or second position. The switches 70 and 74 are connected into an alarm circuit (FIG. 5) containing a pair of alarms 76 and 78, respectively, one of which can be located on the premises and the other of which can be located in a remote police station or security office. Power is supplied the alarm circuit from a fail-safe power supply 80, and the circuit also contains a master switch 82 that should be hidden on the premises, and which can require a key to operate.

When the alarm circuit of FIG. 5 is activated, any significant movement of the arms 26 and 44 from their second or latched position will operate the switches 70 and 74 and set off the alarms 76 and 78, thus frightening the intruder and summoning assistance. Obviously, additional switches can be added to the alarm system, such as on the pit walls to be activated if the cover plate 20 is moved vertically by whatever means.

It is readily seen that the present invention fulfills all of the objects hereinabove set forth. Obviously, many changes and variations therein are possible.

I claim:

1. An arrangement for safeguarding a security safe or the like, for use in a building or structure having a surface with a pit therein for receiving said security safe, said arrangement including: a removable cover means for said pit; latch means disposed within said pit and beneath said cover means for releasably latching said cover means in place; means positioned remotely from said pit and connected with said latch means for operating the same to release said cover means; means for releasably locking said operating means, to render such ineffective to operate said latch means; and alarm means connected to give an alarm upon unauthorized operation of said operating means to release said latch means.

2. An arrangement as recited in claim 1, wherein said latch means includes a latch arm, and said operating means includes a lock arm located remotely from said pit, said lock arm being mechanically connected with said latch arm, whereby movement of said lock arm from a locking to a release position thereof results in movement of said latch arm to unlatch said cover means.

3. An arrangement for safeguarding a security safe or the like, for use in a building or structure having a surface with a first pit therein for receiving said security safe, and a second pit spaced from said first pit, said arrangement including:

a removable cover means for said first pit; rotatable shaft means extending between said first and second pits; a latch arm disposed within said first pit and connected at one end thereof to one end of said shaft means; a lock arm disposed within said second pit and connected at one end thereof to the other end of said shaft means, whereby when said lock arm is pivoted about the axis of said shaft said latch arm pivots simultaneously therewith, said arms being pivotal between a first position and a second position; cooperative latch means carried by said cover means and the other end of said latch arm, arranged to be engageable when said arms are in said first pivotal position, and to disengage when said arms are moved to said second pivotal position; and means for releasably locking said lock arm in said first pivotal position.

4. An arrangement as recited in claim 3, including additionally: alarm means connected and arranged to give an alarm upon unauthorized movement of said arms from said first pivotal position.

5. An arrangement as recited in claim 4, wherein said alarm means includes: an electrical circuit connected to a power supply, and including at least one alarm device; a master switch; and at least one .switch mounted and arranged to be closed by movement of said arms from said first pivotal position toward said second pivotal position thereof.

6. An arrangement as recited in claim 3, wherein said shaft means is concealed within said surface.

7. An arrangement as recited in claim 3, wherein said latch means comprises: at least one latch eye member secured to the undersurface of said cover means; and a hook carried by the other end of said latch arm, and engageable with said eye member when said arms are pivoted from said second toward said first pivotal position.

8. An arrangement as recited in claim 3, wherein said releasable locking means includes: first lock eye means carried by the other end of said lock arm; second lock eye means secured to said surface adjacent said second pit; and a removable lock engageable through both said lock eye means when said arms are in said first pivotal position thereof. 

1. An arrangement for safeguarding a security safe or the like, for use in a building or structure having a surface with a pit therein for receiving said security safe, said arrangement including: a removable cover means for said pit; latch means disposed within said pit and beneath said cover means for releasably latching said cover means in place; means positioned remotely from said pit and connected with said latch means for operating the same to release said cover means; means for releasably locking said operating means, to render such ineffective to operate said latch means; and alarm means connected to give an alarm upon unauthorized operation of said operating means to release said latch means.
 2. An arrangement as recited in claim 1, wherein said latch means includes a latch arm, and said operating means includes a lock arm located remotely from said pit, said lock arm being mechanically connected with said latch arm, whereby movement of said lock arm from a locking to a release position thereof results in movement of said latch arm to unlatch said cover means.
 3. An arrangement for safeguarding a security safe or the like, for use in a building or structure having a surface with a first pit therein for receiving said security safe, and a second pit spaced from said first pit, said arrangement including: a removable cover means for said first pit; rotatable shaft means extending between said first and second pits; a latch arm disposed within said first pit and connected at one end thereof to one end of said shaft means; a lock arm disposed within said second pit and connected at one end thereof to the other end of said shaft means, whereby when said lock arm is pivoted about the axis of said shaft said latch arm pivots simultaneously therewith, said arms being pivotal between a first position and a second position; cooperative latch means carried by said cover means and the other end of said latch arm, arranged to be engageable when said arms are in said first pivotal position, and to disengage when said arms are moved to said second pivotal position; and means for releasably locking said lock arm in said first pivotal position.
 4. An arrangement as recited in claim 3, including additionally: alarm means connected and arranged to give an alarm upon unauthorized movement of said arms from said first pivotal position.
 5. An arrangement as recited in claim 4, wherein said alarm means includes: an electrical circuit connected to a power supply, and including at least one alarm device; a master switch; and at least one switch mounted and arranged to be closed by movement of said arms from said first pivotal position toward said second pivotal position thereof.
 6. An arrangement as recited in claim 3, wherein said shaft means is concealed within said surface.
 7. An arrangement as recited in claim 3, wherein said latch means comprises: at least one latch eye member secured to the undersurface of said cover means; and a hook carried by the other end of said latch arm, and engageable with said eye member when said arms are pivoted from said second toward said first pivotal position.
 8. An arrangement as recited in claim 3, wherein said releasable locking means includes: first lock eye means carried by the other end of said lock arm; second lock eye means secured to said surface adjacent said second pit; and a removable lock engagEable through both said lock eye means when said arms are in said first pivotal position thereof. 